Wednesday, October 25, 2006

fall garden

we have a mixed sort of garden report. we I learned not to start corn so late, nor butternut squash. both grew vegetation, but no ripe, usable fruit. on the other hand our winter plantings of potatoes, carrots, beets, kale, and collard greens are doing well. we still have a few string beans. we robin just harvested a bunch more basil and made 6 more half cup containers of pesto to freeze.

buying seeds last spring, i forgot which squash we liked so much and got hubbard squash seeds instead of butternut squash. the late start mentioned above was from seeds saved from last year's butternut squash. so we have two (2) huge hubbard squash, one 14 pounds and one 24, from two huge squash hills. not a good sort of harvest, and what would we do with more humungous squash anyway.

the tomatoes in the greenhouse still have a few fruits ripening. red bell peppers (still green on the plants), started way late also, are forming fruit. two datil pepper plants, from seeds from florida, also started way late, are starting to flower. alas, they will not produce this year. i have more seeds and will try again next year. i was wary, in spring this year, to let the greenhouse temp get above 90, opening the door and window during sunny days. this fall i have let the temp soar to over 100 and everything in there loved it. so next spring will be a hot time in the old greenhouse.this pepper has a very small chance of ripening into a mature red bell. volunteer peas, onions, carrots, and beets. these will feed us this winter. there is an earlier planted patch much like this but having more mature plantsalas, far from it's southern home and minorcan backround, started late, still a fine looking datil pepper plant. next year!!!i ate this. well, the ripe kernels anyway. right out there in nature without cooking it. delicious! that's it. the only corn for this year.aren't those fine looking stands of corn? too bad this is the middle of october and the ears aren't even close to maturity.

garden update---i can't resist the letter about hubbard squash. here is a picture too. it was taken september second. the squash did not get any larger. from:

"Of the origin of the Hubbard squash we have no certain knowledge. The facts relative to its cultivation in Marblehead are simply these. Upwards of twenty years ago, a single specimen was brought into town, the seed from which was planted in the garden of a lady, now deceased; a specimen form this yield was given to Captain Knott Martin, of this town, who raised it for family use for a few years, when it was brought to our notice in the year 1842 or '43. We were first informed of its good qualities by Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard, a very worthy lady, through whom we obtained seed from Capt. Martin. as the squash up to this time had no specific name to designate it from other varieties, my father termed it the 'Hubbard Squash.'"Letter by James J.H.Gregory written in December, 1857 for The Magazine of Horticulture

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closing in on the last saturday for the bums to host good planets photo share for a while. send us those pics. the link is above, below the earth. after that send 'em to pam in tucson at tortoise trail , who has most graciously volunteered to host "good planets photos" for november.

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i'm sure you all know that we have a very important election coming up. actually, as the county in which we live conducts all elections by mail-in ballot, we have received and completed ours and i deposited them at the county building yesterday a.m. after i got my teeth cleaned. seemed appropriate somehow. clean teeth=voting.

you may suspect our voting preferences from our occasional political rants. i will say that in my opinion our government works best with an empowered loyal opposition. beyond that, i firmly believe that our country works better when more people vote. so, whatever your bent, exercise your franchise.